Four days have passed with the same training circuit, tomorrow will be the day I will be able to find out my magical affinity. I have seen certain progress in all my skills, one in particular has had an enormous increase: my sword skill.

  “Grandmother, why are my skills leveling up so fast?” I hadn’t asked before out of embarrassment, but today my curiosity overcame all shame.

  “Leveling up fast? What do you mean?” My grandmother shows a seriously confused expression at my question.

  “I’ve seen a very high level increase these past few days, let me tell you how my status looks.” I focus on checking my progress and it appears automatically.

  My new status looks like this:

  Maki: 8 years old. – Basic Amethyst.

  SKILLS:

  Sword Mastery – level 5 – level 11

  Enhanced Senses – level 2 – level 7

  Quick Step – level 4 – level 9

  Mana Control – level 3 – level 9

  My grandmother doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, she just stares at me like some kind of strange creature. At times she opens her mouth and closes it immediately, as if searching for the right words.

  “You are impressive, child. No matter how I look at you, you are an anomaly.” Her words leave me disoriented and with a slightly bitter feeling in my mouth.

  An anomaly? I understand her point, but it still feels rude to be called that while being stared at like some huge bug.

  “The level increases come from how well you understand the skill itself, and also from shaping it in different ways until you achieve what you want. Your sword handling is far superior to any child or young person I’ve seen in my entire life. I was already expecting a rapid increase, what surprises me is seeing your skill above level ten. The same applies to your other skills, they have risen so quickly it feels unreal.” I understand. Everything depends on practice, knowledge, and the variety applied to each skill. I should reach the next rank with the sword soon.

  “Grandmother, what level do skills need to reach to advance in rank?” No one had ever told me the required level, no one expected such rapid growth in such a short time.

  “For rank two and rank three, a skill needs to reach level fifteen to advance. You are a lucky little one.” Rita radiates wisdom through her posture, her eyes showing deep experience.

  “Lucky? Why?” I have been lucky to be assimilated into this loving family, my life conditions are good, but no one knows this fact.

  “Yes, Maki, you are very lucky. The world has blessed you since birth with abilities far superior to most, it’s not only your sword mastery, your other skills reflect the result of your talent and effort, but that’s not what I mean.” Rita looks very serious at the end of her words.

  “Then?” I grow more confused as my grandmother tries to reach her point.

  “It’s the circumstances of your life. If you had been the eldest son you would have had many more responsibilities. You can see how Ritmo’s life is, always looking to innovate and improve our villages. Sers didn’t have it easy either, we didn’t have enough time to teach him or let him train properly because it was when we acquired the second village, he also had to help. You, on the other hand, arrive in a moment of stability. It’s true we have some issues with monsters and expansion, but it’s not time to involve you yet, and even when we must, we have planned everything to prioritize your training. Everything aligned: talent, perfect timing, and the time to give you the best conditions.”

  I stop to think for a moment. If we were at war, I wouldn’t have so much time to train or receive help from my family. If we didn’t have the resources of a noble house, it would also be difficult; working from childhood would cut many training hours. Being a high-ranking noble also comes with responsibilities and heavier studies.

  My older brother had to study a lot since childhood to acquire knowledge. Sers spent more time helping people and assisting my parents. I’ve never had that kind of responsibility, and there’s also the fact that I awakened early.

  I don’t need to study much because I carry knowledge from twenty past years. I don’t know many details about this new world, but the basics aren’t a problem.

  “Thank you, Grandmother. If you hadn’t told me, I would have lived unaware of this. Should I start taking on more responsibilities?” It makes me feel useless when everyone contributes to the villages except me.

  “No. As I said, your potential is more important. We have prioritized your development. It will be far more beneficial if you manage to reach the Ruby rank like us, or Diamond and surpass us. We are betting on your future, little one.” A gentle smile forms on my grandmother’s lips.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “I’m running a bit late, Maki. I must go now, see you tomorrow at the same time… Don’t forget, tomorrow you’ll learn your magical affinities.” She stands up after checking the time and says goodbye.

  My grandmother closes the door and I’m left sitting alone on the floor, thinking about my future. My only thought is to be strong and help my family. It’s a goal, but it feels empty. I need to think about short-, medium-, and long-term goals. With renewed spirit, I continue training until night.

  I gained one more level in each of my skills. The most surprising change is in Enhanced Senses. Before, I couldn’t feel anything with my eyes covered, but now I can sense some of the wooden obstacles just centimeters before crashing into them. I can’t distinguish contours or shapes, and it only works at times.

  My mana senses have also improved. I can occasionally feel my grandmother’s spells, although I can’t identify their exact form, I’m slowly getting closer.

  “TODAY IS THE DAY.” I’m extremely excited. At last, I’ll know my elemental affinity, today I’ll discover a part of myself that will accompany me until the day I die.

  I trained with my grandmother and we returned together to have a family breakfast. It feels pleasant to be with my family, I was getting tired of eating breakfast alone.

  We talked about our days, activities from previous days, and some village matters. Apparently, monster activity hasn’t increased, which is always good news.

  I tell them about my training, the exercises, my daily routine, and everyone seems very happy. I only keep the levels of my skills secret, I want to surprise them properly later.

  We are at the altar where I acquired my magic. I’m wearing the same bracelets, what has changed are the vessels used previously.

  “Why are there ten vessels now and the bracelets are connected?” My family hadn’t explained anything, curiosity wins again.

  “Each person is born with ten different affinity types. You must transmit your mana into the bracelets, which are connected to each vessel. After a few seconds, each vessel will send a wave into this paper and your affinities will appear.” My mother explains.

  “I understand, Mother. It sounds simple.” There isn’t much science behind it.

  They tell me not to release too much mana, only what’s necessary. Apparently, the bracelets will indicate it.

  I begin channeling mana into the bracelets and they glow golden this time. Twelve seconds pass and the vessels begin emitting different mana signals. After another ten seconds, I cut the flow.

  “Pay close attention.” My father takes the sheet and begins reading the results while looking at each of us.

  “Jarrid, stop the suspense, let us read it or say the results.” My father laughs lightly and hands the sheet to my mother after being scolded.

  “Maki, you have three one-star affinities and four two-star affinities. These seven will be discarded, it’s not recommended to train affinities with such low stars.” My mother reads immediately.

  “I understand. What about the other three affinities?” My mother smiles and looks at me with pure love.

  “Congratulations, son! You have a four-star lightning affinity like your father and Sers, although theirs are five-star. Don’t be discouraged. You also have a five-star ice affinity like me and Ritmo.” Between surprise and excitement, I begin thinking about which path to take.

  “That’s impressive, Maki. You can become a mage with two high-quality affinities.” Ritmo rubs his chin thoughtfully.

  “Yes, Maki, if you master both magic styles, your skill repertoire will be very difficult to counter.” Sers comments calmly with his hands behind his neck.

  Both my brothers share their opinions, I can hear the excitement in their voices.

  “Thank you, Ritmo and Sers. I’ll ask you for advice in the future.” They both use these affinities, I must take advantage of that.

  “Dear, what about the last affinity?” If my father hadn’t mentioned it, I wouldn’t have noticed. I was blinded by excitement.

  “The last one is only three stars, but… it’s a gravity affinity. That’s spectacular, Maki.” My mother smiles widely.

  Gravity? I understand the concept of gravity from my old world. What’s so special about it?

  “Son, that’s incredible. A category three affinity is amazing.” My father is the most excited in the room.

  “Father, what does category three mean?” I’ve never heard that term before. It’s only three stars, it sounds smarter to focus on four- and five-star affinities.

  “Son, magic has small categories for each type. Category one are basic elements like fire, water, wind, and earth, where there is clear harmony. Category two are derivatives and some special types, like ice and electricity. It’s the category with the most magic types.” My father looks at my grandmother and stops.

  Rita’s point of view:

  I decide to touch my grandson’s aura with mine to stop him. I want to explain to Maki myself the difference between category three and the others.

  “Little one, category three affinities are very special because they don’t have a clear natural enemy. Let me explain with examples. Fire is countered by water, water by electricity, electricity by earth and its derivatives. Category three has no natural counter. Gravity cannot be countered as a force.”

  “Don’t get too excited, it sounds very strong, right? The problem is mana consumption and the long time required to truly understand this type of magic.”

  “Does it consume more mana?” Maki looks at me, waiting for an answer.

  Sometimes I forget that Maki is still a child. He always acts older than his age, understanding complex matters quickly, seeing the world differently from other children.

  “Yes. Category three magic consumes twenty percent more mana when used, and since it’s only three stars, you’ll use around thirty-five percent more mana per skill compared to your ice mana.” The mathematical explanation is very clear, even though it should be complicated for someone his age.

  Every benefit comes hand in hand with a drawback. They always come together, never separately.

  “I would recommend using all three magic types. You have a massive mana pool and it will continue to grow with time. When calculated carefully, the benefits outweigh the obstacles for a category three affinity.” I advise Maki, who looks deep in thought.

  “Thank you, Grandmother. Then it’s decided, I’ll use all three affinities. They will be the foundation of my strength.” Maki rubs his lips with his fingers while thinking. That gesture gives me a good feeling.

  Every day I see more potential in this child. I feel a small spark of hope when I look at him. Perhaps he will be the first in our family to reach the Diamond rank. With enough time, he could even reach Obsidian, a rank dreamed of by countless people.